3 ms·

To my understanding a ground isn't necessary for equipment to operate at all, however it sinks the EMI, reducing floating neutral voltage and noise. PC equipme

To my understanding a ground isn't necessary for equipment to operate at all, however it sinks the EMI, reducing floating neutral voltage and noise. PC equipment such as voltage regulators put out a lot of noise. The neutral is not bonded to the metal chassis when a ground is not present, meaning the difference in potential in the chassis cannot be synced with ground, causing various crazy issues. It's why cases still are overwhelmingly metal, steel mostly.

lazide 4y ago
Ground is (ideally) a just in case safety measure. It catches voltage transients, shorts, etc. and routes them safely to ground via a (normally) non-current carrying conductor. This is also useful for EMI protection. The neutral should also be bonded to ground at the panel in residential installations. It used to be there was no ground, and neutral carried the ‘return’ load and was also used for equipment grounding and the like. It’s not as terrible an option as you’d think, if everything else is done correctly. However, this can be dangerous as certain types of wiring setups (generally incorrect and non-code compliant) can produce voltages on other neutrals in the circuit, and if that is being used to ground a metal case (which there is no other alternative), zap to anyone who touches it. Especially if someone wired something backwards and you get a hot neutral (aka now hot metal case). Especially if the badly wired thing is something sporadic, like a rarely used light switch or outlet. It turns it into a ticking time bomb. It’s a somewhat common DIY error to create floating grounds (and floating neutrals), and a floating ground can still cause this even with modern wiring with the right kind of screw up. It’s one of the most dangerous types of wiring problems. I’ve run across it in two different houses I moved into after the fact. Also damaged conductors causing heat and sparking. Also damaged outlets that on closer inspection exposed current carrying parts of the sockets due to cracked and broken plastic. It’s a jungle out there!

lazide 4y ago

Ground is (ideally) a just in case safety measure. It catches voltage transients, shorts, etc. and routes them safely to ground via a (normally) non-current carrying conductor. This is also useful for EMI protection. The neutral should also be bonded to ground at the panel in residential installations. It used to be there was no ground, and neutral carried the ‘return’ load and was also used for equipment grounding and the like. It’s not as terrible an option as you’d think, if everything else is done correctly. However, this can be dangerous as certain types of wiring setups (generally incorrect and non-code compliant) can produce voltages on other neutrals in the circuit, and if that is being used to ground a metal case (which there is no other alternative), zap to anyone who touches it. Especially if someone wired something backwards and you get a hot neutral (aka now hot metal case). Especially if the badly wired thing is something sporadic, like a rarely used light switch or outlet. It turns it into a ticking time bomb. It’s a somewhat common DIY error to create floating grounds (and floating neutrals), and a floating ground can still cause this even with modern wiring with the right kind of screw up. It’s one of the most dangerous types of wiring problems. I’ve run across it in two different houses I moved into after the fact. Also damaged conductors causing heat and sparking. Also damaged outlets that on closer inspection exposed current carrying parts of the sockets due to cracked and broken plastic. It’s a jungle out there!